Forest fires and prescribed burns also contribute to the diminishing air quality at the Grand Canyon. NAU's Ecological Restoration Institute operates an experimental forest plot just outside of Flagstaff. This experimental forest is used to study, monitor, and develop fire and forest management methods. Students spent an afternoon at the experimental plot taking core samples from trees, studying fire scars, and learning forest management techniques. NAU Forestry professor Dr. Thom Alcoze taught students forest management techniques of indigenous peoples. Student made different mixtures of paper, twigs, and pine needles and then lit them on fire to study how the smoke from forest fires might impact air quality.